A billion people around the world suffer from neglected tropical diseases, and the global health community is working to develop new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics. But experts note that success is uneven in part because of different rules and regulations in different countries for drug development and testing.

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Dr. Peter Hotez, president of Sabin Vaccine Institute, says it is much easier to test new therapies in India than in other parts of the world.

At a time when economists predict that South Asia's economy will grow, health experts point to hundreds of millions suffering from neglected infections, often as a result of poverty. In a series of new studies, researchers say many countries in South Asia bear a disproportionate burden of these diseases and have a need for new drugs and vaccines.

Even as the world welcomed the seven billionth member of the global population this week, medical researchers warned that rapid-growth economies such as India’s still had a high proportion of morbidity with more than 290 million Indians suffering from Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).

Austin, Houston and San Antonio, three of the most populated cities in Texas, have something in common with the world's great population centers - Cairo, Jerusalem, Petra, Baghdad, Shiraz, Delhi, Kathmandu, Chongqing, Wuhan and Shanghai. All are located on or close to the 30th parallel north. All, to some degree, are home to people in poverty.

Last year, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton highlighted a new outlook for American diplomacy and development through strengthening “civilian power,” a group of civilian experts who pursue diplomacy and international development in hopes of solving public health, agriculture and food insecurity, and other global challenges.

United Kingdom based journalist Emilie Filou recently published an article on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) featuring interviews with Sabin President Dr. Peter Hotez and Managing Director of the Global Network Dr. Neeraj Mistry. In the piece, Drs. Hotez and Mistry make the case for improving integrated NTD control programs by including NTDs in the mission of The Global Fund, Pepfar or the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative.